


Your Love Is Sunlight

by stevesnosebump



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Boys In Love, Dock Worker Bucky Barnes, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-War, Steve taking care of Bucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:13:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26946499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stevesnosebump/pseuds/stevesnosebump
Summary: Working at the docks leaves Bucky sweaty, sore, and exhausted.He always forgets that Steve is more than happy to take care of him.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 7
Kudos: 89





	Your Love Is Sunlight

**Author's Note:**

> here this bitch go again writing another pre-war stucky fic that no one cares about...when will she stop terrorizing us?

Working down at the docks can be hard sometimes. Bucky often has to work late, and by the end of the day, his entire body aches and he’s drenched in sweat. 

He doesn’t hate his job—it pays pretty well, keeps a roof over his and Steve’s heads and allows him to pay for Steve’s medicine with plenty of pocket money left over—he just hates the strain it puts on his body when he has to carry heavy cargo, and he hates how he’s always working outside, no matter the weather.

None of that is enough to justify quitting, in his mind—and not just because he doesn’t know what the hell kind of work he could do if he _did_ decide to quit—so he wakes up early up to six days a week, wears his body out, and drags himself back home, knowing he’ll have to wake up and do it all over again the next week. 

Still, he greets Steve with a smile and sweet kiss when he comes back. And it’s genuine—seeing his sweetheart just reminds him that his hard work is all worth it, in the end. 

“You look tired, Buck,” Steve remarks when Bucky walks in, sadness and guilt evident in his tone. 

Bucky shrugs the remark off as he works on taking off his shoes. “Ah, it was hot today. Cargo’s heavy. Nothing I can’t handle, though, so don’t you worry your pretty little head, sunshine,” he pauses his work of untying his shoes to ruffle Steve’s hair, chuckling at the displeased noise he makes before bending back over to untie his other shoe. 

Steve doesn’t look too convinced. He watches Bucky closely, clearly trying to find any sign of discomfort or displeasure. Bucky knows this, so he stays strong—back straight, light smile on his face, doesn’t even bother to wipe the sweat from his brow. 

“Could use some dinner, though, doll. I’m starved.” 

Steve visibly relaxes. Dinner. He can provide that for Bucky, can feed him a good meal that’ll fill him right up, and he can wash the dishes after so Bucky can finally relax. 

“Dinner’s already done.”

“Then let’s eat before it goes cold!” 

——  
After they’ve eaten, Steve starts clearing the table off, rushing through getting his dishes to the sink so he can grab Bucky’s before he does it himself. 

“Here, let me help,” Bucky (predictably) says, grabbing his plate and getting up to take it to the sink. 

“Nope,” Steve grabs the plate out of his hands. “I’ve got it. Go shower, you smell,” He teasingly wrinkles his nose, which makes Bucky roll his eyes in response. 

Bucky lingers for a while, torn between wanting to help Steve and wanting to _rest_ for the first time since he first woke that morning. 

It’s evident that helping Steve isn’t an option when Steve turns to look at him over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow and giving him a look that says _”Go. I’ve got this.”_

So Bucky obeys, and as he feels the hot water from the shower run over his sore muscles, he knows he’s made the right choice. 

“You look better,” Steve tells him when he finally gets out of the shower. 

Bucky hums in response, not wanting to admit that he feels a lot better, too. The last thing he wants to do is make Steve feel guilty by complaining about being sore from work. 

“Might head to bed early,” Bucky says after a yawn. “I have to work late tomorrow.” 

“You’re working late? Why?” 

“Well, Richard’s quit and we don’t have a replacement for him yet, so I was asked to take up for him.”

Steve frowns at him, worries his lip a little, but he doesn’t respond. 

“Don’t look at me like that, Stevie. I’ll be fine, I just have a long day ahead of me. Plus, I’ll get paid extra,” he adds with a shrug. 

Steve hasn’t stopped frowning, but he looks a little less upset about it, at least. 

“Okay. Let’s get to bed then.” 

——  
Steve doesn’t always wake up in time to see Bucky off to work, but when he does, he _always_ does his best to cater to Bucky’s every need—which isn’t always easy when Bucky has to leave home at around 5:45 in the morning. 

He makes sure to wake up on time this morning—he actually wakes up before Bucky does—and immediately puts the coffee on. They’ve been trying to save their coffee ever since the rationing went into effect, but today is clearly the right occasion to use some up. 

He waits to start cooking breakfast until he hears the shower turn on. If his timing is right, breakfast will be plated and waiting on the table by the time Bucky is finished getting dressed. Perfect.

He knows they won’t be able to enjoy the meal together since Bucky will be in a bit of a rush, but at least he’ll know that Bucky ate a good breakfast and had caffeine in his system to fuel him through his day. 

Bucky looks tired when he walks in, but he lights up when he sees Steve placing his breakfast on the table. 

“Oh, my housewife’s been hard at work, huh?” He teases, kissing Steve’s reddening cheek. 

“Morning, Buck.” 

“Morning, my sunshine. And thank you for...all this,” he says, gesturing to the food. 

“It’s the least I can do. Eat up.”

“You’re not gonna eat with me?” He asks when he sees Steve turning back to the kitchen. 

“I’m fixing your lunch. And I think I’m gonna have to head back to sleep once you leave, I’m exhausted.” 

With that, Bucky digs in, silently dreading the long day ahead of him. 

When he finishes eating, he hands his plate to Steve, making sure to thank him again, and then rushes to quickly brush his teeth before he leaves.

“Wait, don’t leave yet!” Steve calls out, rushing to the door to catch up to him. 

“Oh, how could I forget?” Bucky says before giving Steve a quick kiss. “Don’t wait up for me.” 

“Uh-huh,” Steve responds, knowing that yes the hell he _will_ wait up. 

——  
It’s almost ten at night, and Steve is _still_ waiting for Bucky. He’s a little worried at this point—Bucky’s regular hours are hard enough, so how tired and sore is he right now? Has he eaten dinner, or did he only get breakfast and lunch?

He knows Bucky would want him in bed—he’d told Steve not to wait up for him, after all, even though he knows Steve can be stubborn—but he doesn’t want to go to bed alone. He wants to greet Bucky when he walks in, give him a kiss and even a massage if he needs one, and cuddle in bed until they fall asleep. 

He decides to at least do what he can for Bucky in case his body betrays him and he falls asleep anyway. So he lays out some snacks on the kitchen table, in case Bucky comes home hungry, and then he heads to the bedroom, where he lays Bucky’s favorite pajamas out on the bed so he can slip right into them and go to sleep. 

Steve needs to go to sleep, his body is practically begging him to, but he still stays up, hoping Bucky will be home soon. 

He’s just made a deal with himself that he’ll go to sleep if Bucky isn’t home in the next fifteen minutes when he hears Bucky’s keys unlocking the door. 

For a moment, Steve considers pretending he’s asleep just so Bucky won’t be concerned about the fact that he waited for so long, but when he hears Bucky walking in, he abandons that thought completely, rushing straight to him.

“Thought I told you not to wait up, punk,” Bucky teasingly chides through a yawn. 

“You should know by now that I don’t always take instructions well.” 

“That’s true,” Bucky chuckles, thinking back to the countless times Steve practically went out of his way to disobey instructions. 

“How was work?” 

Bucky is sweatier than usual, and he’s moving in such an unbalanced way, it’s clear his entire body is sore. 

Despite how obvious it is that he’s had a rough day, he keeps his guard up. 

“Fine,” his lie is caught immediately by the hiss he lets out when he bends to untie his shoes. 

“Go sit,” Steve says, directing him to the living room. “Let me take care of you for once.” 

For once, Bucky doesn’t try to argue. 

Once Bucky is seated, Steve takes his shoes off for him. Then, he helps Bucky up and leads him to the shower, even going as far as taking Bucky’s clothes off for him. 

“Oh?” Bucky remarks, stupidly smug look on his face, as he watches Steve strip himself of his own clothes to join Bucky in the shower. 

“Don’t you start,” he rolls his eyes. “I’m helping you out.” 

“Mm, and I appreciate it,” Bucky hums, shutting his eyes and letting out a relieved sigh as the water washes over him. 

Steve lets Bucky relax and enjoy the warmth of the water as he gets to work washing his body. 

“Turn around,” Steve tells him once he’s satisfied with his work. 

Bucky complies, and Steve gets on his tiptoes to press a kiss to his shoulder. 

“You’re tense,” Steve remarks, setting the washcloth aside to massage Bucky’s shoulders. 

Bucky lets out a guttural moan when Steve perfectly massages a knot he hadn’t realized was bothering him so much. 

“Work’s hard, isn’t it?” Steve softly asks, Bucky having to strain to hear him over the sound of the shower. 

“Yeah,” he finally admits. “Today was really rough.” 

“I know. You were gone a long time.” 

Bucky nods, thinking back to when he first woke up that morning. “Lots of heavy lifting. I’m a bit sore.” 

“I know,” Steve assures him, pressing a kiss to the back of his neck. “Just glad you’re finally letting me help you.” 

“It’s nice,” Bucky sighs. “Should’ve done it earlier...I just didn’t want you to feel guilty.” 

“Guilty?” 

“Yeah. Because you can’t really work like this. So I thought—I don’t know. I didn’t want to complain about it.” 

Steve hums in understanding before letting go of Bucky’s shoulders. “Let’s get you to bed.” 

As they dry off, Steve notices that Bucky looks far more relaxed than he has in weeks. 

——  
“You laid my pajamas out!” Bucky says, making Steve chuckle at how genuinely gleeful he is. 

“Wanted to make sure you had an easy night.” 

“Tha—“

“If you thank me one more time I swear to God I’m kicking you out.” 

“I appreciate you,” Bucky laughs, showing his appreciation with a kiss. 

Steve smiles as he grabs one of Bucky’s shirts for himself to sleep in. 

A smile still covering his face, Steve watches as Bucky drops his towel (biting his tongue to keep from making a remark) and changes into his pajamas before he instantly drops into the bed. 

“Get in here, I’m exhausted.” 

So Steve quickly throws on Bucky’s shirt and a pair of underwear before joining Bucky in bed. 

“I’m the big spoon tonight.” 

“Fine by me,” Bucky chuckles, turning over.

He hums in content when Steve finally gets into position, both men always pleased to find that they still fit like puzzle pieces even when the roles are reversed. 

“Hey, Steve?” Bucky whispers after a few moments of silence. 

“Yeah?” 

“I know you said you don’t want to hear me thank you anymore—“

“No buts.” 

“But—“

Steve cuts him off with a loud groan.

“But,” Bucky chuckles as he starts again. “I hope you know I appreciate everything you do for me. Especially today. I try so hard to look after you and I still forget to look after myself, sometimes. And I think today really reminded me that you’re my shoulder to lean on as much as I’m yours. So thank you.” 

Steve smiles into Bucky’s neck and pulls him in a bit closer. 

“I know. I love you.” 

Bucky turns his head to kiss Steve, mumbling “I love you” between the first and second kisses. 

“Get some rest,” Steve tells him, kissing his cheek. 

When Bucky drifts off to sleep, he’s thankful for whatever he did right to make the universe believe he’s deserving of a soulmate like Steve.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed I love them lots!


End file.
